Seroprevalence of Hepatitis E Among Pregnant Women in Urmia, Iran

Background: while hepatitis e virus (hev) mostly causes self-limited disease in general population, it is more severe in pregnant women.objectives: this study aimed to investigate the seroprevalence of anti-hev igg among a population of pregnant women in west azerbaijan of iran .patients and methods: one hundred thirty six pregnant women referred to urban health centers of urmia for pursuing pregnancy-related health services were enrolled in a descriptive, cross-sectional study. anti-hev igg antibody was evaluated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, elisa; dia.pro; diagnostic bioprobes).results: only five (3.6%) of 136 cases had positive results for anti-hev igg. there was no significant difference between age (p=0.88), and income level (p = 0.19) of the two seropositive and seronegative groups. all seropositive cases were from urban areas.conclusions: the seroprevalence of anti-hev igg is low in the population of pregnant women in , similar to the rates reported from developed countries. effective health services and provision of safe water supplies in urmia may take role in this low prevalence rate.